Friday, September 26, 2008

Ethiopian Holiday Gift Project!


Hi Everyone! I just wanted to send out a 'Heads Up!' on the Holiday
Gift Project for this year...
I have been organizing and keeping track of the Holiday Project donations for the past 2 years. This year, I will also be purchasing and transporting the gifts (with
the help of a small Holiday Project team!)to Layla House in Ethiopia, for the holidays.

In the past two years, we have been able to expand the program from
$8000 serving 400 children and staff... to last year more than
$10,000 and more than 500 children and staff.

This year, the project will be a bit different. With the news of
famine and inflation in Ethiopia at the moment... Children are
starving and families are unable to buy food, or fuel to keep thier
homes warm...We are asking for a minimum donation of $25. $10 of
every donation will go towards AAI's many Humanitarian Aid Efforts.
So, this year, not only will you be making the holidays a little bit
brighter for a child or caregiver, you will also be contributing to
Aid Relief in Ethiopia.

Our AAI Family and Friends, have always been great supporters of this
project, and I hope that this year will be no different! With the
increased donation, and additional children/staff, the program has
grown once again... This years Goal amount is $14,880, and I know
that we can do it! Your generousity and support are much appreciated!
This is also a great time of year to get extended family and friends
involved...We have received many donations in the past in honor of a
family or child that is home. Feel free to forward to friends and
family, or post this info on your blog with a link for AAI.

This year, the project will encompass the following programs, with a
portion of each donation going towards Humanitarian Aid...
(A $25 donation will provide for one child or caregiver)

Children at Layla, Wanna and Opportunity Houses will receive A New
Traditional Outfit, Small wrapped gift and Candy. (A portion of the
donation will also go towards the Holiday Party.)

Caregivers at Layla, Wanna and Opportunity Houses will receive a gift
certificate to a local department store, where they can purchase
holiday foods, and other items for their families.

Children in Kidane Mihret (KM) (which receive very little funding)
will receive small gifts and a party.

Children in the Nazret and Mukatore Sponsorship Programs will be
treated to a Holiday Party.

Children in the Orphaned Student Project (OSP) will receive a gift
certificate to a local department store, where they can purchase
holiday foods, and other items for their families.

Children at Eban House in Ghana, will receive A New Traditional
Outfit, Small wrapped gift and Candy. (A portion of the donation will
also go towards the Holiday Party.)

Staff at Eban House in Ghana, will receive an appropriate gift, or
gift certificate for a local department store, where they can
purchase holiday foods and other items for their families.

The breakdown looks like this...
GROUP (# of kids/donations) TOTAL NEEDED

Layla, Wanna and OH kids (180) $4500
Layla, Wanna, and OH staff (152) $3800
OSP (122 kids) $3050
Nazret party $750
Mukatore party $225
KM Party $750
Ghana kids $840
Ghana Staff $980

Total: $14880
Of this total, more than $5,000 will go towards humanitarian aid.


For families who would like their donation to go to a certain child
or program, I would be happy to receive those requests!

Since I am in charge of keeping it all straight, Once you have made
your donation via mail or online, please send me an email with your
name, donation amount, and where you would like the money spent.
Once we begin receiving donations, And I return from 10 days visiting
with my daughter at Layla House, I will post weekly updates to let
you all know where we are, and what we still need!

Donations can be made by check or money order and sent (with a note
specifying "HOLIDAY GIFT PROJECT" and your preferences) directly to
AAI at the address below....

Adoption Advocates International
709 South Peabody Street
Port Angeles, Washington 98362

Donations can also be made conveniently at the AAI website, by
clicking the "DONATE NOW" button, click on "Holiday project" and type
what portion of the project you would like your donation to go to,
in the Donation Designation Field.

www.adoptionadvocates.org

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO EMAIL ME WITH YOUR DONATION DETAILS! And feel
free to email me with any questions! If I don't know the answer, I
will find someone who does!

mandie.doak@gmail.com

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

We're Back!

Okay... so I typed up this big, long post about our trip, and somehow it disappeared...
So sorry for those of you 'stalkers' out there, that have emailed to let me know that you can't wait for some pics...
Here's a quick post and some pics for your viewing enjoyment!

We had a great time on our trip... though, as usual, it was way too short!

Tensaye is beautiful, though we already knew that, and sweet. She fit right in with our family. We spent a lot of time at Layla House, since she was not allowed to leave the compound, and it was great to watch her interact with friends and caregivers.

The kids at Layla house as always, were smiling and happy, and longing for families!
This was our first trip during the rainy season. And I'm glad that the next trip will be in winter! It rained nearly every day of our stay in Addis, at some point... Usually for only a few hours a day, but the rain brought cooler temperatures, so it was good to wear layers!

Without further ado.... Some shots from the trip!


















Friday, September 05, 2008

1st Day at the "BIG" School!

Leyton went to his first day of American Kindergarten on Tuesday.... I didn't have the bittersweet feeling that I anticipated having... it was great to see him with the other kids, and know that he will do fine after all the preparation that he has had in his German Kindergarten class.




That night, we had our final year-end Thank You dinner for his German teachers. They were all at the Kindergarten for an after school meeting... so we hauled the grill up to the courtyard, and Jon BBQ'd ribs and burgers. They can eat some BBQ! We started this year end tradition 3 years ago, when Leyton completed his first year there. It was sad for me to hear from Heide, the director, that in her 32 years teaching there, she had never had a family Thank the teachers as a group. They were very appreciative, and we decided to do it every fall...




I totally forgot to post pics from our little mid-week mountain vacation... We headed down to Garmisch to take advantage of the great deal that Edelweiss lodge is offering returning servicemen and women. We didn't do much, just hung out and walked around town... Jon and the kids spent every spare moment in the pool... We had fun.







We are now looking forward to the next big trip.... Just 6 more days till we head off to Ethiopia!